Ginning apparatus.



E. R. BULLOCK.

GINNING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED 5111.23. 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oiuuon.

EDWIN R. BULLOCK, OF PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND.

GINNIN G APPARATUS.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

Application filed January 23, 1909. Serial No. 473,824. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN R. BULLooK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pawtucket, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented an Improvement in Ginning Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My present invention relates to that type of so-called roller gin which is shown and described in U. S. Patent of P. F. King, No.

, 819,893 dated May 8, 1906, in which the roller is made up of a series of rotary disks and intervening stripping and feeding mechanism.

My improvements reside in providing a self-contained or unitary ginning head between each pair of disks which can, therefore, be removed, inspected and replaced without interfering with the rest of the gin or its operation; a lateral adjustment and self-centering or self-tightening construction for said head, disks and cooperating mechanism whereby the ginning mechanism may be conveniently adjusted, repairs quickly made, etc.; a stripper blade construction in which the stripper blades are supported throughout their length whereby vibration or chattering is prevented, with the result that the cotton is evenly and smoothly ginned; and adjusting mechanisn for said stripper blades whereby they are simultaneously adjusted at the opposite sides of the head, one for each adjacent disk; and a divided fan dofl'er whose sections overlap the disk within the spaces between the latter and dofl the fiber from the sides or radial ginning surfaces of the disk.

The constructional details and various advantages of my said improvements will appear more at length in the course of the following description taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a plurality of ginning disks, ginning heads, divided doffer, and adjacent parts, portions of the gin being shown in section; Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view; Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical transverse sect-ion showing a single ginning head;

and Fig. 4 is a vertical. sectional view showing parts of said head in front elevation.

Inasmuch as the general features of this type of roller gin are not my invention, I have omitted showing them and it will be suilicient therefore to explain that the cotton is fed by suitable feeding mechanism in proper quantities to the spaces between the successive disks 1 and after it is ginned the cotton passes down the chute 2, said disks being rotated by a power shaft 3 provided with a pulley 1 from which a belt 5 actuates the doffer shaft 6.

According to my invention I provide a transverse bed piece 7 extending entirely across the frame of the machine and plane a V-shaped or dove-tailed groove 8 in the back top corner thereof and an oblique face 9 at the front top corner. Between these two surfaces 8, 9, preferably adjacent the front, I form a T-shaped slot 10. The successive disks 1, are spaced along the shaft, to which they are secured by any suitable means as by heavy screws 11, and bet-ween each pair of disks I mount a head 12 which carries all the ginning mechanism which cooperates with the disks to gin the cotton, so that said head is thereby made self-contained or unitary, as already mentioned. This head 12 is herein shown as a casting and provided with a depending portion 13 having a dovetailed end 14: to fit the groove 8 and an opposite depending portion 15 having a beveled surface 16 to fit the corresponding face 9', each head being firmly clamped by a bolt 17 whose head 18 occupies the T-recess 10, a nut 19 engaging the threaded upper end of the bolt above the horizontal ledge 20 of the head. Thus all the heads and disks can be readily adjusted laterally with relation to each other as may be desirable according to the particular ginning results which it is desired to secure, and according to the particular kind of fiber or work which it is desired the gin shall do (cotton, wool or other fiber).

Between the front and back uprights or supporting plates 21, 22, of the head I mount opposite stripper blades or' doctors 23, one at each side of the head to cooperate respectively with the adjacent disks. Each stripper blade or doctor is provided with a rounded under side 24: which rests in a correspondingly shaped groove or hollow 25 in a heavy longitudinal bracing support 26 which preferably forms a part of the head casting. By this means each stripper blade or doctor is given great solidity of position and support so that no chattering, jumping, yielding or vibration of any kind can be imparted thereto by the rapid pulling of the cotton over the top edge 27 thereof by the ginning surface of the disk 1. At their opposite ends the doctors are preferably provided with trunnions 28, 29, which permit I them a swinging adjustment. Cooperating with the trunnions 29 is a clamping plate 30 held in clamping engagement therewith by a bolt 31 and nut 32, the head 33 of the bolt engaging against the under side of the ledge 20 of the head. The clamping plate 30 has a hollow or groove 34 for each trunnion 29 made on a smaller radius than the latter, as shown clearly in Fig. 4, so that the tightening of the nut 32 serves readily to cause the clamping plate 30 to bite or grip the trunnion immovably against rotating movement. At either end the stripper blade is provided with rearwardly projecting levers 35 whose slanting under surfaces rest on bosses 36 projecting inwardly from plates 37 mounted in vertical ways 38 formed in the adjacent faces of the supports 21, 22 respectively. Each of these plates 37' is centrally slotted at 39 to receive an adjusting bar 40 provided with upwardly projecting inclines 41 as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. At its outer end the bar 40 is threaded and provided with a knurled thumb nut 42 whereby longitudinal movement is imparted to the adjuster 40, a set nut 43 being preferably provided to lock the adjusting nut 42 in its adjustment. Thus simply turning the thumb nut 42 forward or backward correspondingly raises or permits lowering of the plates 37 and hence the levers 35 and thereby swings the stripper blades or doctors 23 toward or permits them to swing away from the adjacent ginning disks 1.

The cotton fiber passes down through a space 44 provided therefor at the outer side of the longitudinal braces 26 while the seed passes between said members in the space 45 provided therefor.

At the rear side of the disks, on the shaft 6, I provide a doffer made in sections, one section occupying the space between each pair of disks. This doifer may be of any material or general construction as long as it has the divided or sectional arrangement mentioned, so as to deft the cotton from the sides of the disks by the end portions of each section. As herein shown, it is a fan doffer having arms 46 each provided with a brush 47 at its outer end, whose ends sweep rapidly across the side ginning surface of the adjacent disk, being arranged to overlap sufliciently for this purpose, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The sections of the divided brush doffer are adjustable by any suitable means as by set screws 48, so that when the heads and disks are adjusted the doffer can be expanded or contracted correspondingly to suit any given requirements.

In use, if for instance a stripper blade breaks, gets rough, or otherwise injured, the entire head may be quickly removed simply by unscrewing the nut 19 and lifting the head bodily from the bed piece, whereupon another head may be put in place without interfering materially with the running of the gin. As previously constructed, the entire gin had to be stopped and largely taken to pieces in order to remedy the break-down of any individual part, and accordingly I regard this unitary head feature of my in vention as of considerable practical importance. Again, if it is desired to separate the disks, heads, and doft'ers slightly to gin a different product from that for which the gin was previously adjusted, said desired readjustment may be quickly accomplished simply by loosening the set screws and bolts 11, 19 and 48 and sliding the disk and doffer sections along their shaft 3, 6, and the head along the bed piece 7. Upon tightening the nut 19 the head is clamped quickly in place, the cooperating beveled surfaces 9, 16 acting under the downward impulse of the nut 19 to pull the dove-tail portions 8, 14 into immovable engagement. This construction also serves to take up wear, but its primary function is to maintain the entire head absolutely immovable. This is also the main purpose of the construction at 24, 25 and also at 29, 34, whereby all vibration, chattering or swinging of the ginning parts with relation to each other is prevented.

I am convinced that much of the defective ginning produced by roller gins is due to the slight rapid springing or yielding of the stripper blade and its supporting and adjacent parts, under the sudden and severe action of the cotton fiber as it is whisked downward forcibly between the edge of the stripper blade or doctor and the roller surface. Accordingly one of the main objects of my invention is to make it impossible for any of the parts to contribute to any such vibrating or chattering of the stripper blade or doctor. Steadiness and freedom of vibration is even more necessary in a gin of the kind under consideration than in an ordinary roller gin, inasmuch as in the present disk gin the roller surface is divided into a series of relatively thin sections and the pressure of the ginning'action comes transversely to said thin sections, viz. against the sides of the disks as distin guished from against the peripheral surface of the ordinary roll. Having adjusted the disks, ginning heads and doifer sections as required, the successive pairs of stripper blades or doctors are adjusted by moving their ears or levers up or down, thereby swinging the doctors toward or from the disk as desired. This adjustment is secured by the longitudinal movement of the doctor adjuster through the action of the thumb nut 42.

It will be understood that excepting as otherwise required in the claims my invention is not limited to the constructional details above set forth as constituting the preferred embodiment of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a gin, a pair of ginning disks, and a single ginning head between the lateral faces of said disks transverse to the axes thereof provided with mechanism cooperating with both of said disks for ginning the fiber and means for holding said head immovable and without vibration during ginning.

2. In a gin, a pair of ginning disks, and a single ginning head between said disks, said head containing opposite stripper blades, one for each disk, said head being bodily removable without disturbing the adjacent operative parts.

3. In a gin, a pair of ginning disks, and a single ginning head between the lateral faces of said disks transverse to the axes thereof, said head containing opposite stripper blades, one for each disk, and means for simultaneously adjusting said stripper blades laterally from each other and toward the said disks.

4;. In a gin, a pair of ginning disks, and a single ginning head between the lateral faces of said disks transverse to the axes thereof, said head containing opposite relatively movable stripper blades, one for each disk, and means for simultaneously clamping said stripper blades immova-bly on the head.

5. In a gin, a pair of ginning disks, and a single ginning head between the lateral faces of said disks transverse to the axes thereof, said head containing opposite swinging stripper blades, one for each disk, and means for swinging said blades positively toward said disks.

6. In a gin, a pair of ginning disks, and a single ginning head between the lateral faces of said disks transverse to the axes thereof, said head containing stripper blades for cooperating with said disks and means for supporting each blade unyieldingly throughout its length whereby vibration is prevented.

7. In .a gin, a pair of ginning disks, and a single ginning head between the lateral faces of said disks transverseto the axes thereof provided with mechanism cooperating with both of said disks for ginning the fiber, and clamping means for removably securing said head immovably to the machine in accurate positive alinement with said disks.

8. A gin, comprising a plurality of ginning disks, stripper mechanism for each disk located between lateral faces of adjacent disks and transverse to the axes thereof, and supporting means for said parts having provision for adjusting said disks and for adjusting said stripper mechanisms laterally of the machine and of each other.

9. A gin, comprising a series of ginning disks, a transverse bed piece in front of said disks, a series of stripper mechanisms for the respective disks including separately movable ginning heads, and means permitting a sliding adjustment of said heads along said bed piece transversely of the planes of rotation of the disks.-

10. A gin, comprising a series of ginning disks, a bed piece extending transversely of the machine in front of said disks provided with a slideway longitudinally thereof and transversely of said disks, a series of stripper mechanisms including ginning heads movably mounted on said slideway, and means for clamping said heads at any point desired along said slideway.

'11. A gin, comprising a series of ginning disks, a bed piece extending transversely of the machine in front of said disks provided with a slideway longitudinally thereof and transversely of said disks, a series of strip per mechanisms including ginning heads movably mounted on said slideway, said slideway and ginning heads being provided with cooperating self-alining and tightening means, and clamping means for fastening said heads on the slideway.

12. A gin, comprising a series of ginning disks, a bed piece extending transversely of the machine in front of said disks provided with a slideway longitudinally thereof and transversely of said disks, a series of stripper mechanisms including ginning heads movably mounted on said slideway, said slideway having an undercut groove in one side and an opposite beveled surface, and said heads having correspondingly shaped flanges fitting said groove and beveled surface, and clamping bolts for clamping said heads in place on said slideway.

13. In a gin, a rotary ginning disk, a ginning head adjacent thereto, a stripper blade provided with a supporting trunnion pivotally mounted in said head, a clamping plate to engage said trunnion, and means for clamping said plate in immovable engagement with said trunnion.

14. In a gin, a rotary ginning disk, a ginning head adjacent thereto, a stripper blade provided with a supporting trunnion pivotally mounted in said head, a clamping plate having a grooved seat for fitting against said trunnion eccentrically for clamping said blade immovable.

15. The combination with a pair of ginning disks, of a ginning head extending between lateral faces of and transverse to the axes of said disks, a pair of stripper blades carried by said head, one for each disk, said blades having inwardly projecting portions, and an actuator arranged to simultaneously engage said projecting portions, the movement of said actuator simultaneously moving said stripper blades relatively to each other.

16. The combination with a pair of ginning disks, of a pair of pivotally mounted stripper blades, one for each disk, said blades having inwardly projecting portions, a vertically movable projection engaging said portions unyieldingly, and means for actuating said vertically movable projection to position the blades positively.

17. The combination with a pair of ginning disks, of a pair of pivotally mounted stripper blades, one for each disk, said blades having inwardly projecting portions, a vertically movable plate having a lateral projection to engage said portions, and transversely movable sliding means for actuating said plate.

18. The combination with a pair of ginning disks, of a pair of pivotally mounted stripper blades, one for each disk, said blades having inwardly projecting portions extending from apoint adjacent the operative edges thereof, a vertically movable plate having a lateral projection to engage said portions, and a transversely movable wedging device having wedging engagement with said plate for vertically moving said plate when the wedging device is moved transversely of said plate.

19. In a gin, a pair of ginning disks, a ginning head extending between them, containing inner and outer transverse supports, a pair of stripper blades mounted in said head between said supports, one for each disk, each blade having adjacent its opposite ends inwardly projecting levers, movable plate mounted on each of said supports having a projection engaging the adj acent levers of said two stripper blades, a longitudinally movable bar mounted in said supports having wedging engagement with said plates for lifting the latter when the bar is moved longitudinally, and externally operable means for adjusting said bar longitudinally.

20. In a gin, ranged side by side, spaced apart to receive fiber between them to be ginned and having side ginning surfaces, mechanism cooperating with said surfaces in ginning the fiber, and a dofier divided into a series of sections corresponding to the spaces between said disks, said sections overlapping said disks within said spaces and having fan-like members with side wiping surfaces for dofling the fiber from the adjacent side ginning surfaces.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my,

name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN R. BULLOCK. lVitnesses:

M. J. SPALDING, EDWARD MAXWELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G.

a vertically a series of ginning disks ari 

